PATTAYA, Thailand – It’s impossible not to feel sympathy for Andrew Hopkins who found himself temporarily in Pattaya police cells for damaging an electronic vehicle barrier. Of course, it’s a disputed saga. He accuses the local police of extortion and brutality amid the far-from-luxurious police cells. But city police chief colonel Nawin Theerawit has his videos to show officers actually arrested Andrew twice in separate incidents, both times prompted by drunken behaviour.
The British foreign office has apparently made an official complaint on behalf of Andrew, whilst the Pattaya police colonel has asked the British embassy for help in confirming that the guy was treated in accordance with lawful practice. Diplomats are notoriously reluctant to get involved in cases where the accused is actually back in his or her home country. Moreover, it is far from clear that Andrew was treated any worse than a Thai in a similar situation. That’s the crucial point.
The key is probably the 15,000 baht (about 370 UK pounds) which Andrew claimed was bribe money to get him out of jail without a court case. Police deny that happened. Even if the cash was paid, it could be argued that it was to repair the damage to the vehicle barrier. Calling out the firm in the middle of the night to repair the machine would cost about that. A security man on duty at the site apparently told the local press that he was greatly infuriated because he would be liable to pay for the damage out of his meagre wages.
During the past 30 years, Pattaya in its role as Sin City Extraordinaire has provided many examples for British newspaper headlines and, later on, internet click bait. There was the guy who was arrested for painting his neighbor’s front door (contrary to the alien labour act then in force), the Brit who walked round Pattaya with a talking parrot (which unfortunately asked passers-by for donations) and the lady from Coventry who stole the wallets of people who came to her rescue when she collapsed (which she did once too often).
Thailand and Pattaya are no longer as carefree and anarchic as they once were. There are nationally around 230,000 policemen who comprise almost 20 percent of all local government personnel. The cops come in many guises: City, Immigration, Tourist, Anti-Trafficking, Narcotics Control, Economic Crime etc etc. There is close collaboration between Thai police and foreign crime agencies including Interpol. Public order is seen by Thai officials as the priority and alcohol abuse is taken seriously. Prostitution is tolerated rather than legalized. Conservatism is always lurking just under the surface here. Twelve military coups since 1932 prove that.
A review of internet news channels suggests that about 70 Brits have been arrested in Pattaya over recent months. They have included murderers, child abusers and drugs traffickers as well as immigration defaulters, thieves and drunks. Their eventual fate is often unreported as media representatives are almost always banned from Thai courts. Bizarre cases, such as the Brit accused of destroying government documents after he swallowed a traffic ticket in a foolish moment, are likely to be highlighted in both the UK press and Pattaya social media. It’s stuff Brits apparently love to read. Of course, the overwhelming majority of Brits in Pattaya never hear handcuffs click or see the inside of a lockup. But perhaps Pattaya was once the Wild West. It isn’t now.
